Every fashion week has a headline. At the 16th Lagos Fashion Week, which ran from 28 October to 1 November, it wasn’t a colour or a silhouette. It was cloth: hand-woven, hand-beaded and hand-threaded, made by people whose skills go back generations.
Around 65 designers showed across five days, on the main runway at the Federal Palace Hotel on Victoria Island and at smaller presentations across the city. This season’s theme was “Crafted: Heritage. Innovation. Circular Futures.”, and almost every show answered it. Here’s what stood out, and the labels to know.
Akwete, reimagined
The most talked-about collaboration of the week paired menswear designer Emmy Kasbit with luxury retailer ALÁRA. Their capsule, Akwete Reimagined, takes Akwete, the hand-woven cloth from Akwete town in Abia State, and cuts it into contemporary shapes.
It matters because of who’s involved. ALÁRA is one of Lagos’s most influential luxury stores. When a retailer like that puts its name to a traditional weave, it tells customers the cloth belongs in a luxury wardrobe, not only at weddings and ceremonies.
See the look from Emmy Kasbit on Instagram →
Fringe, beads and raffia
Hertunba opened the main runway on the Thursday night. Florentina Agu founded the label in 2020, and her collections are built on structure and storytelling: bold geometric patterns, Akwete and aso-oke panels, and fringe that moves as the model walks. This season brought black dresses dripping with red beaded fringe and a brown beaded mini that was one of the looks of the week. Agu also puts 10% of net profits into an adult education programme for women. Shop Hertunba →
See the look from Hertunba on Instagram →
Kilentar skipped the main tents for an intimate offsite show. Designer Michelle Adepoju, who is British-Nigerian, built her Spring/Summer 2027 collection around womanhood and growing into new versions of yourself. There were beaded dresses, robes and swimwear in yellow, orange, blue and purple, all made with her signature hand-woven cotton and hand-applied beadwork. Shop Kilentar →
See the look from Kilentar on Instagram →
They weren’t alone. Khadiju and Eki Kere also worked raffia, cowries, aso-oke and adire into their collections, and a showcase called the Irapada Circular Design Initiative put sustainability centre stage, with Tunture, Éki Kéré, IAMISIGO and Hertunba.
Heritage craft is being treated as luxury, not costume.
Streetwear takes a seat
It wasn’t all couture. Street Souk, the platform that became the first streetwear name to show at Lagos Fashion Week the year before, came back with four designers: 520G, Cashmerihero, Zacchi Lagos and Fahlil. Think bomber jackets, metallic finishes, experimental headwear and hoodies with detachable parts. The standout was the agbada, the flowing traditional robe, remade in leather.
See the look from Street Souk on Instagram →
If you want that mix of Lagos tailoring and streetwear in your own wardrobe, start with Orange Culture. Adebayo Oke-Lawal has been making fluid, gender-free menswear in Nigerian prints since 2011, and everything is produced in Lagos.
Beyond Nigeria
Lagos Fashion Week has become a stage for the whole continent. Designers from Ghana, Uganda, Morocco and South Africa showed this year, and Ghanaian label Christie Brown returned to the Lagos runway after eight years away.
Look across the week and two colours keep coming back: deep red and earthy brown. They showed up at Hertunba, Sevon Dejana, For Style Sake, Maliko and Christie Brown. If you’re shopping now, those are the shades to look for.
Why it matters
For years, “African fashion” has been sold abroad as a print or a trend. This season said something different. The value is in the making: the weavers, beaders and tailors behind the clothes, and designers who treat that work as the luxury it is. That’s a story worth buying into, and many of these labels ship to the UK.
Shop the story
Hertunba. Lagos couture with Akwete, aso-oke, fringe and beadwork.
Kilentar. British-Nigerian womenswear in hand-woven cotton and hand-applied beads.
Orange Culture. Gender-free menswear in Nigerian prints, made in Lagos.
ímátà. A Lagos studio making bold, feminine maxi dresses and co-ords, with inclusive sizing.
LAUVE. Designed between Lagos and London: resort, occasion and bridal wear in bold colour.
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